Writing implement with a bendable casing



Feb. 8, 1966 H. K. BROSS 3,233,592

WRITING IMPLEMENT WITH A BENDABLE CASING Filed July 14, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 3 {1mm fig HEIE ATTD RNEY Feb. 8, 1966 K BROSS 3,233,592

WRITING IMPLEMENT WITH A BENDABLE CASING Filed July 14, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z9 30 28 mbxx :5 30

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WRITING IMPLEMENT WITH A BENDABLE CASING Filed July 14, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. 16

United States Patent Ofiice 3,233,592 Patented Feb. 8, 1966 18 Claims. 61. 120-4213 The present invention relates to a writing implement, and more particularly to a ball-point pen which is provided with a bendable casing and means for converting the bending movement of the casing into an axial movement of the refill so that the ball-point tip of the refill is shifted from a retracted position within the casing to the writing position or vice versa, and with means for locking the refill in the writing position.

There have been writing implements of this type prior to this invention which had the disadvantage that they could be operated only by applying excessive forces since the casing was far too stiff to be easily bent and the frictional losses occurring in the conversion of movements were too high.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved writing implement of the above-mentioned type which overcomes the disadvantages of similar implements which were known prior to this invention, and which may be easily and reliably operated so that the casing may be easily bent and the frictional losses occurring in the operation will be reduced to the lowest possible value.

According to this invention, this object will be attained by designing the casing which may consist of one or several parts so as to be easily bent in the middle, preferably by weakening the cross-sectional area of its material, for example, by the provision of suitable slots, cuts, apertures, an annular groove, or the like, and by mounting the refill or its associated refill holder or carrier so as to be axially slidable relative to the casing by means of rotatable elements, for example, longitudinal ball bearings. While the construction of the pen casing permits the same to be easily bent in the middle and thus to be easily operated, the mounting of the refill or the refill holder by means of rotatable elements, for example, longitudinal ball bearings, reduces the operating friction to a minimum which also facilitates the operation of the writing implement and increases its length of proper service.

These as well as further features and advantages of the present invention will become more clearly apparent from the following detailed description thereof which is to be read with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which-- FIGURE 1 shows, partly in section, a side view of a ball-point pen according to the invention with the refill in the retracted position;

FIGURE 2 shows an axial section of the ballpoint pen according to FIGURE 1 in the writing position;

FIGURE 3 shows a cross section which is taken along the line IlL-III of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 shows a cross section similar to FIGURE 1 of a ball-point pen according to a modification of the invention;

FIGURE 5 shows an axial section of a ball-point pen according to another modification of the invention;

FIGURE 6 shows an axial section of a ball-point pen according to a further modification of the invention;

FIGURE 6a shows a detail view of a part of the ballpoint pen according to FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 7 shows a cross section which is taken along the line VII-VII of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 shows an axial section of a longitudinal ball bearing;

FIGURE 9 shows an axial section of a modification of the longitudinal ball bearing;

FIGURE 10 shows an axial section of a ball-point pen according to a further modification of the invention;

FIGURE 11 shows an axial section of a further modification of the ball-point pen according to the invention;

FIGURE 12 shows a section of a part of a casing;

FIGURE 13 shows a view similar to FIGURE 12 of a modified casing;

FIGURE 14 shows a development of a casing wall containing slots;

FIGURE 15 shows an axial section of a ball-point pen with a casing according to FIGURE 14; while FIGURES 16 to 19 show axial sections of further modifications of the ball-point pen according to the invention.

In the drawings, FIGURES l to 3 illustrate a ball-point pen which has a flexible casing 1 with opposite actuating points 2 and 3 where the casing is provided with slots 11 which permit the casing 1 to be easily bent for the purpose of advancing and retracting a more rigid refill 4. The slotted part may have a length in the axial direction of several centimeters, for example, 2 to 5 cm. Over the end of the refill a part 5 is slipped the inner end of which has a thickened portion 6 which engages upon the wall of the casing 1 in order to prevent useless bending. For reducing the friction, a longitudinal ball hearing may be provided, in which case the thickened portion 6 may be omitted. The slots 11 may have a width of about 0.12 to 0.2 mm. In the event that the casing 1 is made of plastic, the slots may either be molded into the casing dur ing the molding of the latter or they may be provided therein subsequently. A suitable plastic for molding the casing is, for example, polypropylene.

The rounded outer end 10 of the part 5 which has an opening 9 engages upon long or short concave inclined eed surfaces 7 or 8 so that the specific surface load upon material will be very small.

The screw thread 12 may be double-threaded and its start is located in such a position that, whenever a new refill is inserted into the casing, the inclined feed surfaces 7 and 8 face toward the actuating points 2 and 3. In order to prevent the casing I from bending transversely to the actuating points 2 and 3, longitudinal ribs 13 may be provided therein or, as shown in FIGURE 4, the opposite wall portions of the casing may' be inwardly made of a greater thickness.

The manufacture of the ball-point pen as illustrated in FIGURE 5 may be simplified by making the casing of two parts 14 and 15. The two inclined feed surfaces 7 and 8 may then be made integral with the rear part 15. The bending portion may be located in a cylindrical part 16 of the front part I4 or of the rear part 15 of the casing and be covered by a cylindrical extension 18 of the other casing part which surrounds the bending portion with a radial clearance 17. In order to prevent any interference with the bending action, the front end of the casing part 15 also has a clearance 19. A stop 21 for the threaded part 20 may be provided by the opposite reinforcing ribs. The cylindrical part 16 may either be provided on each side with slots or with a single wider windowlike aperture 22 so as to permit this part to be bent more easily. 23 indicates a decorative ring.

The ball-point pen as illustrated in FIGURE 6 contains two refills 4 which may contain ink pastes of different colors. It is provided with two pairs of inclined feed surfaces '7, 8 which are turned at an angle of relative to each other and against which the refill holders 24 for the refills 4 engage under the action of tension springs 25. The front ends of the refill holders 24 are slidable within a forwardly tapering slot 63, as shown in FIGURE 7, which extends transversely to the inclined feed surfaces 7, 8. When a pressure is exerted upon one side of the casing 1, the refill will be pushed forwardly and locked while the other refill will be released from the Writing position and be retracted under the action of the tension spring 25. By merely exerting a smailer bending pressure upon the opposite side of the casing, it is possible to retract the advanced refill without moving the other refill to the writing position. Since the operation of this two-color ball-point pen requires relatively long feed movements, each refill holder 24 is provided between two stops 26 and 27 with a longitudinal baii hearing which consists of a cage 28 and balls 29. As shown in FIGURE 8, cage 28 is provided with constrictions 34) adjacent to the openings for receiving the balis 2% so that, when the latter are inserted into these openings they will be locked therein with a snap action. The longitudinal bearings 28, 29 will return to their lower end position as the result of their own weight. For this purpose, it is, however, also possible to provide a return spring 31, as shown in FIGURE 9. In this case, the constrictions 30 may be omitted if, as also shown in FIG- URE 9, a sliding sleeve 32 is provided which covers up the balls 29 and during the actuation of the pen en ages upon the inner wall of the casing without moving longitudinally.

As illustrated in FIGURE 6a, each refill holder which is fitted over a refill may be provided on its rear end with a small Wheel 2% and be prevented from turning by the engagement of the lateral guide surfaces 25a with the guide surfaces 25b.

In the ball-point pen according to FIGURE 10, the flexible casing 1 is provided on the side opposite to the single bending point 33 with one or several narrow cuts 34. The inner end of the tubular refill holder cooperates with a single inclined surface 35 and is provided at its front end with a simple free-fall clamp which is clamped under the action of the return spring 4a and holds a graphite refill.

The ball-point pen according to FIGURE 11 is also provided with a single bending point and has slots it either on both sides or narrow cuts 34 only on the side opposite to that on which the bending pressure is exerted. The means for operating the pen consist of a heart-shaped cam groove 36 of a conventional type which extends at an oblique angle in the rear part of the casing. The part 5 carries a longitudinal ball bearing 28, 29 which is movable between a stop 27 and a spring 31. When the first bending pressure is exerted, the refill is fed downwardly and locked, while at the next bending pressure it is unlocked and returns under the action of the return spring 4a to its original position.

In such writing implements which operate by being bent in any direction by means of a sin le-stage mechanism which acts in the axial direction, the cross-sectional area of the casing may be reduced at the center thereof by an annular groove 37, as shown in FIGURES l2 and 13, into which a decorative ring may be inserted with play. As shown in FIGURE 13, the casing may be divided and screwed together at this area.

At or adjacent to the area of the annular groove 37, the wall of the casing may be provided with several rows of transverse slots 39, for example, with four slots in each row which are separated by webs 38 and are equaily distributed over the periphery of the casing and are staggered relative to the slots in the adjacent rows so that each web 39 in one row faces a slot 39 in the adjacent row. By these means it is also possible to make metal tubes of a flexible construction.

By providing these transverse slots 3?, the casing of the ball-point pen as shown in FIGURE 15 may be bent in all directions. The tubular refill holder 40 and the refill 4 is supported in the front part of the casing so as to be merely slidable in the axial direction. The end of the refill holder 40 cooperates with a conical socket ii. The two parts of the casing are connected to each other by a threaded sleeve 42. In order to reduce the friction so that the cone may be made with a fiat slope and a large feed stroke may be attained, the right end of the threaded sleeve d2 is provided with a longitudinal ball bearing 23%, 29. The means for o erating the pen may consist, for example, of a heart shaped cam 43 of a conventional type, a ball 44, and an annular groove 45 which is provided in the front part of the threaded sleeve 42. This sleeve 42 is combined with the parts contained therein so as to form a single structural unit. The refill may be easily exchanged by unscrewing the front part of the casing.

The ball-point pen as iilustrated in FIGURE 16 is also provided with a threaded sleeve 42. However, in this case a tubular member 46 which is provided with the conical socket at is rigidly secured to the threaded sleeve 42. The slots 39 are provided in a tubular part 47 of the threaded sleeve 42 and they are covered up by a cylindrical extension 43 of the rear part of the casing which has an axial clearance 49 from the rear end of the front part of the casing so as not to abut against the latter and interfere with the bending of the casing. A longitudinal ball bearing 28, 29 is mounted between a bearing tube 50 and a relatively thin pin 51 which is connected to the tubular refill holder, that is, between a stop 52 on the refill holder and an upper stop 53 on the hearing tube Sti. This structure insures that, when the refill is retracted, it will always be returned to the correct original position solely by the return spring 4a.

The threaded sleeve 42 may consist entirely or partly of metal, while the two parts of the casing may be made of a relatively rigid plastic.

In the ball-point pen as shown in FIGURE 17 the heart-shaped control cam means 43 to 45 are provided in the front part of the casing. The part 5 carries a longitudinal ball bearing 28, 29 which is slidable between two stops 27 and 27a. This part 5 is in engagement with a conical socket 41 which may be connected to a pushbutton 54. This ball-point pen may therefore also be operated by means of this pushbutton 54. Since an adequate radial clearance is provided between the writing tip of the refill and the front opening 55 of the casing, the refill will not be prevented from pivoting.

In the ball-point pen according to FIGURE 18, the refill i is mounted at both ends by means of longitudinal ball bearings 28, 29 which permit the refill to be pivoted. The tubular refill holder 56 has on its outer end a singlestage operating mechanism and on its inner end a cone 57 which cooperates with an internal flange 59 on a threaded sleeve 58 which holds the two casing parts together. Sleeve 58 is provided with an internal thread and with slots 39. Due to the longitudinal ball bearings 28. 29, the cone angle does not have to amount to more than about 12 to 15 so that a feed stroke of about 6 mm. may be attained even though the casing has an outer diameter of only 10' mm.

FIGURE 19 finally shows a prototype of a ball-point pen which is especially designed for a mixed actuation. The rear end of the refill 4 is in engagement with a conical socket 41. The refill 4 may be fed forwardly in the same manner as previously described until its flange 60 is arrested by a radially resilient locking element 61 which maintains the tip 62 of the refill in the Writing position. The locking surfaces of this element 61 are slightly inclined so that, when the writing tip 62 is pressed with a greater force upon a surface than is required for writing, the flange 60 is released from the locking surfaces of the element 61 and the refiil may return to its original position.

The present invention is not limited to the heart-shaped operating means as illustrated, but these means may be replaced by other operating means which may effect the same purpose.

Although my invention has been illustrated and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, I wish to have it understood that it is in no way limited to the details of such embodiments, but is capable of numerous modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus fully disclosed my invention, what I claim is:

1. A writing implement comprising a tubular casing adapted to contain at least one writing insert and having a substantially cylindrical part substantially centrally of its length, said part having a reduced cross-sectional area of the materal of its wall as compared with the front and rear parts of said casing so as to permit said front and rear parts to be easily bent relative to each other, means for converting the bending movements of said easing into axial sliding movements of said insert for moving said insert forwardly in said casing to a writing position and for retracting said insert fully into said casing, means for facilitating said axial movements of said insert in said casing, and means for arresting said insert in the writing position.

2. A writing implement as defined in claim 1, in which the parts of said casing extending transversely to the bending direction are reinforced by a greater wall thickness.

3. A writing implement as defined in claim 1, in which the parts of said casing extending transversely to the bending direction are reinforced by ribs extending in the axial direction of said casing and projecting radially toward the inside thereof.

4. A writing implement as defined in claim 1, in which said substantially central reduced part forms an annular groove, and a decorative ring within said groove.

5. A writing implement as defined in claim 1, in which said substantially central reduced part is provided with several rows of slots extending peripherally and parallel to each other, the slots of adjacent rows being staggered relative to each other so that each slot in one row faces a web between two slots of the adjacent row.

6. A writing implement as defined in claim 1, in which said casing consists of two separate parts connected to each other by a cylindrical extension of one part telescopically engaging into a cylindrical extension of the other part, the inner cylindrical extension having a plurality of apertures therein forming the reduction of the cross-sectional area of said central part, said extensions being separated by a clearance so as to permit a relative movement between them.

7. A writing implement as defined in claim 1, in which said casing consists of two separate parts and a sleeve connecting said two parts to each other and having slots therein forming the reduction of the cross-sectional area of said central part.

8. A writing implement as defined in claim 1, in which said insert has near the center of its length a thickened part engaging upon the casing wall when said writing insert is in its writing position, said insert having a rounded rear end portion adapted alternately to engage with a pair of long and short concave inclined feed surfaces in said casing, said rear end having an opening adapted to rest upon the apex between said inclined feed surfaces when said insert is in its writing position.

9. A writing implement as defined in claim 8, in which said rounded rear end portion is formed by a small wheel rotatably mounted on said insert.

10. A writing implement as defined in claim 1, in which said casing contains two of said inserts, said casing having two pairs of inclined feed surfaces disposed at an angle of 180 to each other, each of said inserts adapted to engage with its rear rounded end with one pair of said feed surfaces, the front end of said casing having a slot therein extending transversely to said inclined surfaces, the front ends of said inserts being guided within said slot.

11.. A writing implement as defined in claim 1, in which the rear end of said casing has a single inner concave inclined surface engaging with the rear end of said insert.

12. A writing implement as defined in claim 1, further comprising a socketlike member fitted over the rear end of said insert and having a rounded tip on its rear end, said casing having in its rear end a substantially heart-shaped cam groove disposed at an oblique angle, said rounded tip being slidable in said cam groove.

13. A writing implement as defined in claim 1, in which said casing consists of two parts, and further comprising a sleeve connecting said two casing parts to each other, a conical element within and secured to the rear end of said casing and pivotable therewith relative to the front part of said casing, a tubular bearing member for said insert secured within said casing and projecting into the rear part thereof, and a longitudinal ball bearing between said tubular bearing member and said insert and movable between two stops, said conical element together with said connecting sleeve forming a structural unit.

14. A writing implement as defined in claim 1, in which said insert is universally movable in the front end of said casing, a conical element in the rear end of said casing, the rear end of said insert engaging with said conical element, and an operating mechanism comprising a ball, a heart-shaped cam groove, and an annular groove in the front part of said casing and in operative engagement with said insert.

15. A writing implement as defined in claim 1, in which said arresting means comprise a flange on said insert, at least one radially resilient locking element in said casing, and a return spring acting upon said insert, said locking element adapted to engage with a snap action with said flange and to hold the same arrested against the action of said return spring when said insert is moved to its writing position.

16. A writing implement as defined in claim 1, further comprising a conical element slidable in the axial direction in the rear part of said casing and engaging with the rear end of said insert, and a pushbutton connected to said conical element and projecting from the rear end of said casing to the outside for moving said conical element.

17. A writing element as defined in claim 8, in which said rounded end portion is formed by a small wheel rotatably mounted on the rear end of said insert, and means for preventing said insert from turning about its axis.

18. A writing implement as defined in claim 1, in which said casing consists of a scratch-proof plastic such as polypropylene.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Re.25,514 1/1964 Anderton --22 2,428,854 10/ 1947 Randolph 120-42.03 2,881,735 4/1959 Craig 12042.03 2,899,931 8/1959 Bross 12022 3,147,740 9/1964 Bross 12042.03

EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner. 

1. A WRITING IMPLEMENT COMPRISING A TUBULAR CASING ADAPTED TO CONTAIN AT LEAST ONE WRITING INSERT AND HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL PART SUBSTANTIALLY CENTRALLY OF ITS LENGTH, SAID PART HAVING A REDUCED CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA OF THE MATERIAL OF ITS WALL AS COMPARED WITH THE FRONT AND REAR PARTS OF SAID CASING SO AS TO PERMIT SAID FRONT AND REAR PARTS TO BE EASILY BENT RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER, MEANS FOR CONVERTING THE BENDING MOVEMENTS OF SAID CASING INTO 